Indian, Chinese, Japanese exhibits in largest oriental art display in Tbilisi

Hundreds of exhibits shedding light on the mesmerising world of oriental culture and art will be presented to museum-goers in the largest display of the kind in Georgia starting tomorrow.

At Tbilisi’s Museum of Georgia venue, works in painting, sculpture and applied arts from India, China and Japan will introduce visitors to creations daring from BCE eras up to the 18th century.

A release from the Georgian National Museum said around 500 exhibits were selected for the exhibition that will host interested viewers until September.

The exhibition will present oriental works in painting, among other artistic mediums. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

[The] oriental masterpieces from the Georgian National Museum collections, many of which will be presented to the wide audience for the first time, will be a key for a better understanding of this distant and amazing world”, said a preview for the event.

Some of the most notable items will include Chinese vessels made from bronze and dated back to the 1st millennium BCE, as well as a 17th century painting on silk by Chinese artist Jan Mu and a pair of Japanese Satsuma vases from a Romanov royal family collection.

Interest towards the Far East and Indian art [was] manifested [in Georgia] in the creation of rich oriental collections in the Caucasus Museum.”

With the efforts of Georgian or foreign businessmen, collectors, private and state organisations, the collection was enriched [over the years] with [...] crucial [exhibits from] China, Japan and India”, said GNM in their summary.

Photograph of an exhibit selected for the display. Photo: Georgian National Museum.

The exhibits preserved in the collections later found their home at the Georgian State Museum of Fine Art, established in the mid-20th century.

The venue is currently known as the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia and is part of the GNM network of museums across Georgia.

It will welcome visitors for the display Unknown Collections of Georgian National Museum: India, China, Japan between April 26-September 1.